The present invention concerns dispensing systems, such as vending machines, particularly dispensing systems for prescription drugs.
Travelling from place to place and waiting for a prescription to be filled when sick or while accompanying a sick family member has been an unpleasant experience for many. The typical journey includes a visit with a doctor at a clinic, waiting for the doctor to scribble a handwritten prescription, travelling to a pharmacy, giving the pharmacist the handwritten prescription, and waiting for the pharmacist to interpret and fill the prescription. Many times if the handwritten prescription is difficult to read, the pharmacist will need to call the doctor to confirm the prescription. In addition, many times the patient""s insurance carrier will not cover the particular prescription because the particular drug is not on the insurance carrier""s present formulary or because the quantity exceeds the insurance carrier""s coverage limits. These insurance problems may require contacting the insurance carrier, the doctor to rewrite the prescription, or both. Meanwhile, the already ill and tired patient is required to wait as the doctor, pharmacist, and insurance carrier sort out and deliver the prescription to the patient, before they may go home for needed rest.
There are several problems with the present prescription drug delivery system. First, existing systems are slow and require the patient to travel from place to place or wait as overworked pharmacists try to quickly and correctly fill prescriptions for numerous irritable patients. In addition to being slow, the system is prone to human error.
In addition, the present system lacks coordination between the doctor, pharmacists and insurance carrier, sometimes requiring unwanted revisits to the doctor""s office or calls between the doctor, pharmacist, and insurance carrier.
Accordingly, there is a need for a prescription drug delivery system that quickly and efficiently delivers the prescription drug to the patient at a convenient location such as the doctor""s office and coordinates communications between the doctor, pharmacist, and insurance carrier.
To address these needs, the inventor devised a new drug delivery system. One exemplary system consists of a remote dispenser, a prescription entry system, and a communications network. The remote dispenser transmits and receives information from the communications network and dispenses prescription drugs to the patient. The prescription entry system transmits and receives information from the communications network and provides an input system for the doctor to electronically enter individual prescriptions for each patient. The communications network coordinates communications between the doctor, insurance carrier, and the remote dispenser.